


Winter's End

by LeeMorrigan



Series: Shape of Shadows [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bronach Quinn, Bronach is still on the run, F/M, Gen, Greece, Ireland, Little guy from Brooklyn, Multi, Nat worries, Natasha is a romantic at heart, No Spoilers for Infinity War, Other, Sam worries, Seattle, Steve Needs a Hug, Steve's hopes for the future, Team Cap - Freeform, The Accords are WRONG, Thunderbolt Ross is a jerk, Vision is working to be redeemed, Wanda keeps a look out, bearded steve, bucky is still in cryo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 16:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14429580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeeMorrigan/pseuds/LeeMorrigan
Summary: Bronach has a run-in with bounty hunters aiming to cash in on the reward Thunderbolt Ross has put on her head, Steve visits Wanda in Seattle where Vision has kept her safe, Natasha and Sam worry about everyone, and Steve still dreams of a future where he could see his whole team happy.





	Winter's End

**Author's Note:**

> I have not seen INFINITY WAR, so I have no spoilers.  
> This is mostly compliant with BLACK PANTHER and CIVIL WAR, with the addition of my OFC- Bronach 'Nock' Quinn. This should take place roughly 2 years post CA:CW and while it mentions Phil, Thor, Strange, and others- only the characters tagged above make appearances.  
> \--I don't know where/how to do this, but the WARNING is for how there will be a quick description of two bad guys getting their necks snapped, a third being offed with a note pinned to his chest when he's discovered. If that, or a woman being kidnapped will trigger/upset you, you may want to skip this one. It begins with a kidnapping, then two deaths, then a third death mentioned later.--  
> Thank you for reading! Please enjoy!

   Beautiful cerulean seas. Indigo-topped roofs above white-walled homes. Music filtering through the town, with the smell of spices and freshly cooked fish perfuming the air. There was no where in the world quite like Greece. If only she had been able to reach it.

   Bronach leaned back against the hard wall of the truck she was in, keeping her eyes shut and her breathing measured so as to snooker her captors into believing she was still knocked out. Right now, both of them were on the phone with someone, explaining that they were worried because she wasn’t waking up and because she had thrown up shortly after they hit her with those darts. Whatever was in them, Bronach did not care for it.

   Her head was still a bit fuzzy, however she was still able to formulate a plan. Both men were close enough for her to use her secondary ability. The one only Phil, Fury, Steve, Clint, and Nat had known about. Even Tony Stark and Maria Hill had never been permitted to know about it. Too dangerous. And Tony wouldn’t have been able to resist teasing her about it, thusly letting the cat out of the bag.

   Reaching, she felt around their two minds. The one, older and more authoritative, was angry and single-minded. He would be harder to nudge. The younger one was less decisive, unsure, liked following orders, and was not an independent thinker. He was also the nervous type. Bronach almost smiled. His mind would be too easy.

   Nudging, she worked on his doubts. Her mind was foggy and slow, but his mind was weak. She focused on his worry about delivering a dead body because she was reacting badly to the darts. Amplifying that, she also started working on his belief that the elder kidnapper was probably going to shoot him, as a loose end, once they delivery Bronach.

   She nudged again. By the time they were done talking to their boss on the phone, the younger partner would be so paranoid and worried, it wouldn’t be hard to keep the elder distracted long enough for Bronach to finish getting out of her cuffs. Then, she heard the younger one shout out at the phone.

“I WON’T DELIVER A DEAD BODY AND I AIN’T PLANNIN’ ON ENDING UP DEAD NEITHER!”

   Bronach waited. The elder spoke up, his accent thick and her mind unable to pinpoint it. She must have been out of it, as she was usually good with accents.

“Shut it! You are not giving the orders here, Wilkes. That would be Hinkerton. Now, get in the back and check on the bounty. We need her alive and functional. Hinkerton wants to show her off for Ross, to get the money.”

“You gonna shoot me in the back, once I turn? That the plan?”

“I may not wait, if you do not stop whining like a silly girl. Now move. Check the bounty. If she is not yet awake, we will give her the adrenaline shot. That should return her to her senses.”

“Oh, great. So she can strangle us with a shadow.”

“Her shadows do not take on physical form, idiot. They only obscure her from being viewed on cameras or by the naked eyeball.”

   The younger man came around, but she could sense how he was looking over his shoulder and how the older man was disgusted. He hated being saddled with such a partner. Bronach would have worked on that, if she could get her brain to focus that much. Right now, the kid was her speed.

   He opened the back door and she let out a small moan of pain, yet keeping her eyes closed and her breathing slow, shallow. He climbed up in, feeling her pulse. For the first time in her life, she was grateful of her naturally sluggish heart-rate. With her breathing and the near-meditative state she had to get in to work on these minds with her head so fuzzy, her heart-rate had to be at a frightening low. Granted, if the lightheadedness from all of this was anything to go by, her body was soon going to force her to breathe naturally.

“Dude, she’s almost dead!”

“What?”

“I can’t even find her pulse and she’s barely breathing! Get the adrenaline! Get it!”

   Bronach moved quickly, her hands free as she pounced on her captor. He had foolishly turned his back to her, to scream for his partner. She snapped his neck before he had a chance to say another word, then let him fall where she had been, as she resumed her former position. She would look passed out.

   The senior partner came in, shouting at the younger before Bronach made the shadows swallow him. He could not have seen his own hand in front of his face. It wasn’t subtle, as Bronach had preferred in her SHIELD days, yet effective enough today. Once more, she reached, letting her hands do the work her powers could not.

   Dragging herself a little, as her legs were still wobbly, she used the side of the vehicle for support. Thankfully, she did not spot any cameras around. No ATMs, no traffic lights, nothing that might have any sort of camera attached. Probably why her kidnappers had picked the place.

   Upon reaching the passenger side door, Bronach crawled inside. She needed to see if there was anything useful in here. She found no IDs or paperwork for the truck, though she did find the cell phone and a pen. Quickly copying the last six numbers the phone called, onto her left forearm, she then dropped the phone out the window. Moving to check under the seats, she found only empty containers.

   Glovebox empty, console with only the phone and some unmarked maps that looked fresh from a rest stop, and trash under the seats. It was not a lot to go on. She checked over the windows, but there was nothing there either. She got out and then grabbed a small rock. After removing the battery and the chip from the phone, she smashed the chip with the rock and headed back to the bodies. This was the part of the job she had hated.

   She went to the senior partner first. Jacket pockets, shirt pockets, pants pockets, a pat-down, then check the shoes. After that, check areas you can get to quickly, for tattoos, scars, or anything else worth noticing. Once, she had found a guy with GPS tracker that had recently been injected into him. Then she moved to the younger man, repeating the process.

   37 dollars and twenty-cents, a cheap pocket knife, three adrenaline vials, a click-pen, half a pack of fresh mint bubble gum, and a GPS tracker. Not a lot for two lives. Bronach slid the cash into her vest pocket, along with the pocket knife. She had no idea where they had left her things, including her fake ID and her watch. Next, she had to get rid of the van, bodies, and GPS.

   Clint and Natasha would be disappointed in how slowly she was moving. Bronach just prayed that she was the only one who had been ensnared. That Clint, Nat, Sam, Wanda, that Ant-man, and Steve were all still safe, wherever they all were hiding. At last she heard, Steve and Nat had left Wakanda, Vision had sent a message for Wanda only for the two of them to disappear someplace, and Clint was still at the farm. She needed them all to be safe.

~*~*~*~*~*~

   Natasha entered the room to the sound of something crashing against the wall. Looking, she saw that Sam’s aim had been off and he had knocked a vase off the shelf and hit the wall behind it. He had completely missed the dart board, 16.5 inches from her the edge of the vase.

“Sam?”

   He looked up at her, his eyes tired and angry. His body language matching it perfectly.

“I can’t believe Steve left. He didn’t even tell us where he was going.”

   Natasha gave a small smile.

“He didn’t need to. Wanda called for him, and he knows he attracts less attention if he travels alone than traveling with a shapely female and a black American male.”

“Makes me wish I could fake accents as well as you do, at least then I wouldn’t get that look I get every time someone catches the accent.”

“You could pretend to be a mute.”

   Sam fixed her with a look, one entirely too much like the ones Phil used to give her.

“You would have way too much fun with that, and we both know it.”

   She smiled. He wasn’t wrong. Moving over to sit next to him, she took the last two darts and put them both in the bullseye.

“Clint teach you to throw darts?”

“No. Slick, in a bar in Alabama. Clint just made sure I never missed.”

   Sam smiled, his chin falling to his chest.

“Being on the run is hard. Steve’s right, though. Something will happen, and they will need us. That phone will ring, Tony, Rhodey, Vision, and Ross won’t be enough, and they will need us. Then we’ll have some big, bad boogey man to fight, and afterwards, Steve will make them understand that he has been right all along. The world needs us, and they need us to be loose cannons. Having a government person dictating who we can save, what actions we can take, how far we can chase someone, or when we have to call it quits- will never work.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you sitting here, almost in the dark, breaking things?”

“Because I wish I could help more. You’re a super-spy, assassin, and fighter. You have pretty much single-handedly kept us out of danger with fake IDs, what hotels to stay in, what towns to avoid, who to talk to, and everything. Steve can pretty much punch his way out of anything, he can think his way through most anything, he can get jobs easily wherever we go once they see how much he can lift and how he won’t complain about horrible hours or bad pay for his work. Wanda… she’s a one-woman army if she wants to be. And I’m just a flightless bird.”

   Nat nudged his arm.

“You can keep us steady. Clint, for years, has been my rock. The one who keeps me righted. He’s at home, where he belongs, so he can’t be here to be my referee, therapist, life coach, and babysitter. And, as much as Steve and I have become close over the years, I can’t help him the way you do. Wanda can mess with minds, mending them isn’t her specialty. And she’s still dealing with the empty space that used to be her twin’s place. We all need you to keep us sane, functioning people.”

   Nodding, Sam leaned back and then let out a long sigh. He looked a little less tense and not as tired. Natasha was not the psychologist that Clint could have been, if he weren’t an assassin and superhero, although she was not entirely without gifts for mending a worried mind.

“Steve will be back soon.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

   The little kitchen was warm, almost like a well-lived in home felt. Tiles in the backsplash had little yellow and blue flowers with a thin, green vine. Most of the appliances were miss-matched, though all in shades of yellow, orange, purple, and red. Even the mug Steve held was a honey-yellow with a hand-painted daisy on the front.

   Wanda had called him three days ago and now he was here, he could almost forget that they were all wanted. Vision was using his abilities to block out the apartment. It didn’t show up anywhere, he had erased the digital footprint. He also erased Wanda’s, whenever she left the building. Vision, it seemed, rarely left except to intercede here and there with Wanda, when she would know someone nearby was in danger. You could take the girl out of the Avengers.

   Bringing over a kettle, Wanda refilled his mug and gave him the diffuser of black tea leaves. She still made her tea the old-fashioned way. Her mug sat by her spot at the little kitchen table, the color of a rose with a bouquet of blue flowers painted on the side. According to her, it had been a project of Visions, to keep his hands busy.

“I’m happy to see you, Steve. I worried you would show up looking like death warmed over.”

   He smiled, despite the seriousness of the situation. He would likely never stop thinking of Wanda as a kid. She was just too blunt and too in touch with those around her, with a childlike faith that a single person could change the world. And now she lived with Vision, in a blacked-out apartment in Seattle, letting him paint on coffee mugs while she went to the farmer’s market.

“Sometimes I feel so guilty, having this when you guys are scraping by and flying below the radar.”

   Steve waved it off.

“Don’t worry about it, Nat is enjoying it more than she admits. Makes her feel like she’s a spy again, and keeping us safe gives her a purpose. Clint is in the best place for him. Everyone is good. Sam is a little restless, although until we get everything fixed, he will probably stay that way.”

“And you? You’re Captain America – not a spy, or a rogue.”

   Steve stared down into his tea. Some things he just didn’t have an answer for.

“Why did you call me, Wanda?”

“Vision said that Bronach had a close call. He’s been monitoring, as much as he can, from here. Ross got a call, about a week ago now, saying these guys had her. Hinkerton was the name of the caller. When Ross showed up with the bounty money, Hinkerton was dead in his office with a note pinned to his chest saying for them to stop looking for the Avengers.”

   Steve let out a breath. He had always known that Bronach was nearly as skilled as Clint, when it came to assassination. She could get into places no one else could, kill her target, and get out before anyone realized the perimeter had been breached. It still did not sit well when he learned she had added to her ledger, as Natasha would put it. Unlike Clint, who could balance things with those he saved, or Nat who had been trained not to think about taking the life of scum in the same way you thought of taking the life of a Good person, Bronach felt guilt over every hit. Every. Single. Life.

   Wanda reached forward, giving Steve’s hand a small squeeze. She could probably sense the turn his mind had taken, even without her own enhanced abilities.

“Vision hasn’t been able to find any trace of her since. Just the three bodies she left in her wake.”

“Three?”

“There were a couple guys sent to kidnap her. She killed them after she had been tranquilized. Ross’s men found the bodies in a burned out truck, off the side of the highway in Texas.”

“So she didn’t make it to Greece?”

“Not according to Ross’s men, although his men thought she was in New York until they got the call from Hinkerton. The truck was in Texas but Hinkerton was found in Pennsylvania. Some sleazy motel of sorts.”

   Steve nodded. He would need to reach out. Just like how Natasha could find Clint and Clint could find Nat, no matter how deep either had gone, Steve and Nock had ways of finding each other, if the need arose.

“When you find her, Steve, tell her Vision doesn’t think she can lay low for much longer if she stays on her own. She can stay with us, Vision could find a place to stow her and block her like he does for me. T’Challa would probably take her. The Dora Milaje might even enjoy having her around to help throw monkey wrenches in their training so they are even better warriors than they already are. His Russian friend might even be able to find a place to hide Bronach.”

“I’ll tell her.”

   Getting up, Steve reached for his jacket. He needed to go send out the message, then he could come back and have the offered supper with Wanda and Vision, before heading out to meet Bronach or disappear into the ether. The sooner he got into contact with Bronach, the sooner she would be safe.

   It would be hours before Bronach would respond. And if he just allowed himself to walk around, he might be recognized, spotted on a camera, or just end up beating himself up over letting her stay out in the world four months ago. At least in the apartment, he did not risk exposure and Wanda wouldn’t permit him to tear himself up too much. She would tell him all about what she knew, he would fill her in about Natasha and everyone, Vision would awkwardly sit there and add facts, figures, and some fortune-cookie sounding bits here and there. Steve wasn’t entirely sure what Wanda saw in the man, but if he made her happy, then Steve was happy for her.

   Moving outside of Vision’s protective barrier, Steve went to the corner and found a payphone. They were increasingly hard to find in the States. He placed a call to a number, then waited for the machine to pick up. A moment later, he heard a voice he would know anywhere.

“Leave it after the beep, jerk.”

   Steve smiled, despite the fact he was calling her to let her know he was in Seattle and to please let him know she was safe, since he had learned what trouble she was in lately. Ross had come within inches of having her. Then it would have been to something like the Raft, with the same rigging they put on Wanda.

“It’s me. I heard about Pennsylvania and Texas. I’m in Seattle.” He then hung up, turning to go to Wanda and Vision’s apartment. He would have to wait for Bronach.

~*~*~*~*~*~

   Bronach walked into the old museum, breathing in the scent of history. Above, a beautiful WWI era plane hung from the ceiling as if in mid-ascent. Glass cabinets stood tall, uniforms from the Civil War, the first World War, and Vietnam all stood under lighting clearly meant to make every medal shine. Everything was bathed in a soft, honey-tinged glow from bulbs meant to protect rather than fade the items on display.

   What really caught Bronach’s attention, however, was the old wood and wrought iron spiral stair that lead up to the small NASA section of the museum. The building was a historical site, although the move to being a museum had happened in the late 70s, making some of the display cases themselves, relics of a bygone era of historiography.

   She walked to the railing, taking in the ornate detailing. Each step had a wooden slat that had been dropped into a perfectly measured, rectangular tray of wrought iron. The wrought iron was full of vine patterns, the rail was curved beautifully to look like tree limbs with the wooden top shaped like leaves, and the center beam looked like a blackened tree trunk.

   She could have gotten lost in this room alone. Let alone all the artifacts and memorabilia from NASA that awaited at the top. Going up, she took her time to enjoy the view, through the old mansion turned museum. The place really was beautiful. Peaceful. It made her long for the library in her home town, full of the smell of old books and well-polished wood from the floors and shelves that were lovingly cared for their whole 189 years.

“Bronach?”

   Turning her head, she caught a silhouette standing by the windows facing a nearby harbor. Tall, broad shoulders, long legs, and posture that gave away his former profession. Bronach smiled. It had been a long five months.

“Brooklyn.”

   He stepped forward, his features filling in as the light fell across his face. Then he reached out and Bronach’s feet carried her into his arms, allowing him to hold her close. He still smelled of clean cotton, sunshine, old books, and something unique to Steve.

“Your hair is darker.”

   He ran his fingers down through hers.

“Yours turned purple.”

   She chuckled.

“No one takes me seriously or looks very closely at me, they just see a girl in a Punk Rock shirt and purple hair.”

   He nodded, then they got quiet for a moment.

“Wanda filled me in about Hinkerton.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Come with me? We’re not with the King anymore. Nat found us somewhere else to be, somewhere that is safer, where we can be of use, and no one will come looking for us there.”

   Bronach wanted to argue. She wanted to tell him that she was more useful out here, with her ear to the ground. However, recent events had proven that was nolonger the case. Wanda and Vision were doing a better job, of late. And with the price on her head having doubled over the last few weeks, being out in the world was likely to do more harm than good.

“Where?”

“A small place, in Ireland.”

   She gaped at him.

“She got into one of her old accounts from when she worked freelance, before Clint found her. Bought a B&B that the locals use for vacations and such. I’m the handyman, Sam works as the driver, Nat is operator. She fakes the accent well enough and she is a brunette now, so she doesn’t think she stands out as much. If anyone asks about me, she tells them I’m her American cousin and that after the Army, my best friend Anthony and I had no where to go, so she offered us jobs and lodging, since she couldn’t run her dream B&B by herself.”

“What happens if you have to run?”

“Nat sells it fast, under the guise of her own death, and takes the money to do something else.”

“Wow. She thought of everything.”

“Which is why we’ve made it this far, unscathed.”

   Bronach let out a sigh. She hated giving up, yet she could not argue that it was better for her to hide with them.

“How will she explain me?”

“My girlfriend from America, finally went and kissed the Blarney Stone enough to charm you into following me across the ocean.”

   Looking up a little, she smiled. Steve looked so hopeful, but with that fragility to it that always broke her heart. He got that look when someone mentioned restoring Bucky, when the topic of mending things among the Avengers came up, and whenever someone would talk about Clint’s family. He didn’t dare hope they would all come together again, that Bucky would go back to being his old friend from Brooklyn, and that Clint could keep his family safely off the radar without having to give them up for that safety.

“I’ll come to Ireland with you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, to be clear, I did not really kiss the Blarney Stone, so how did I talk you into it?”

“I can’t hide out like Wanda, it would be too stifling and, unlike her, I wouldn’t have someone to share my frustrations with. I can’t stay out here alone, I’m just risking them catching me and doing goodness knows what with my genes or my mind. I can’t go to Wakanda, because I will go stir crazy in weeks, once the amazement at the beauty of it, wore off. And, we all know how much I love Ireland.”

“You’ve never been.”

“Ancestral home, at least from three grandparents. The other one, her ancestral home is in South Carolina, from before the Pilgrims showed up with their diseases and dreary clothes.”

   Steve smiled. She was coming back to Ireland with him.

“You sure you aren’t going to argue with me? Or that I won’t look up from fixing something, and find you peeling off in some little car?”

   Shaking her head, Bronach reached up to shove a loose strand of hair from Steve’s forehead. She rather liked this long haired, bearded, less tidy version of him. Granted, she had always preferred the rugged types, before she met the star spangled man, himself.

“I’m not going anywhere, Steve. Not unless you’re going there too.”

“I remember you telling Clint once, if he asked you, you’d go anywhere. If he told you, then you’d send him there at the end of your size 10.”

   That earned a small chuckle, muffled as their conversation, to keep from being overheard in the little museum. Of course, with the antiquated security and the way the acoustics worked, no one would hear them without coming close enough to be seen by them.

“I meant it. I hate being ordered, but I’d willingly walk across the Sahara, for a friend.”

“And for me?”

“For you, I’d cross an ocean. When do we leave?”

“In the morning. By boat, though. Nat couldn’t swing a flight that she didn’t worry about.”

“She booked us a slow boat to Ireland, instead of a flight? I feel like she might have had an ulterior motive.”

   From the look, she guessed she was not the only one thinking as much. Nat might claim she was a practical type, yet she secretly had a romantic’s heart.

“I’m sure of it.”

“Well, want to spend all night prowling the city, enjoying a final American night? No telling how long before we can get back in.”

“After we have lunch with Wanda and Vision. She’s worried.”

“Deal.”

   Bronach took a step back, out of Steve’s embrace, then slid her hand into the crook of his elbow.

“Lead the way, Mon Capitan.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“Nope.”

   Without arguing, Steve lead the way over to the spiral stair, where they had to separate in order to walk the narrow way down. However, at the bottom, Bronach’s hand was back in the bend of his arm, her other hand reaching to point to something in the museum.

“Isn’t that a gorgeous model?”

“You really do love your history, don’t you?”

“What makes you say that?”

“The way you drool over the old photos, planes, models, NASA patches, and letters in here. Not to mention the architecture.”

“Oh, I thought you were going to say because I was going home with a fossil.”

“That’s it, you don’t get to talk to Nat ever again.”

   They both laughed as they headed out. Tomorrow, they would make their way to Ireland, and a boat ride later, they would join Natasha and Sam. Then they would wait. Soon enough, if what Strange and T’Challa had been saying was anything to go by, the world would need the Avengers again. And they would be there when that time came. For now, Steve wanted to enjoy whatever happiness he could.

   Stepping into the light, he felt the sun warming his face and jacket. Spring was just around the corner. Even the air smelled of casting off the winter jackets and snowflakes. Looking over, Steve found Bronach sliding a black baseball cap onto her head with a Batman symbol on the front.

“Still loving your comic books?”

“Geek and proud, my friend. Geek and proud. Now come on, I’m starving and Wanda’s cooking is ambrosia!”

   Steve lead the way down the stairs and onto the sidewalk. Yes. He would be there, with his fellow Avengers, when the alarms sounded. And in the meantime, he did not intend to waste any time or chances. They were precious to him, now more than ever. Letting his hand slide down, he felt Bronach’s shadowing his until their fingers entangled, as the two walked towards Wanda’s apartment.

   Perhaps, after all this was over, this could be his life. Bucky and Sam, each with their respective partners, waiting for him at one of their apartments. He and Bronach going over to meet them. Maybe Nat would drop in, if she wasn’t off visiting Clint and his family. Bruce or Thor might even drop in, when they were in the neighborhood. It was not the life he pictured in 1945, however he was not the same man now as he had been when he went into the ice. And he never would be again.

“Steve?”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad Erskine picked you.”

   He smiled.

“Me, too.”


End file.
